Masala paratha recipe

 Masala paratha recipe, an Indian flat bread made with whole wheat flour, desi ghee, Indian spice powders and herbs like coriander and mint

Masala paratha is spiced Indian paratha where the normal everyday plain paratha is given a make over with a medley of Indian spices, herbs and desi ghee or clarified butter. A special yet easy masala paratha recipe that you can make with absolutely no preparation work. It is not heavy like aloo paratha but is light and extremely flavorful.

masala paratha served with aloo gutke, urad dal, khoya matar paneer, boondi raita

My favorite paratha varieties are aloo paratha paneer paratha and masala paratha. The flavor is all in the paratha masala powder which is a eclectic mix of aromatic Indian spices and herbs that include fennel seeds, coriander, cumin, fresh coriander and mint and desi ghee. You can add any spice of your choice based on what you have on hand. You can crushed roasted peanuts or roasted sesame seeds for a bit of crunch and flavor.

There are two methods to follow while making masala paratha recipe. One method involves mixing all the spice powders in melted ghee and spreading this paste over the flat round paratha dough, rolling the paratha and shaping into a coil and finally rolled into 

Main Ingredients:

1. whole wheat flour
2. spices

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Water as required
• Ghee - 4-5 tbsps
• Mint leaves - 3 tbsps, finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - 5 tbsps, finely chopped
• For masala powder:
• Red chili powder - 2 tsps, Kashmiri
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tbsps
• Saunf powder - 1 tbsp (aniseed/sompu)
• Roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp OR chaat masala powder
• Kasuri methi - 2 tsps, crushed (optional)
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp

Method

1. In a bowl, add the atta or whole wheat flour and salt and mix. Slowly add water to form a soft yet slightly firm dough. Cover with damp cloth and let it rest for 10 mts. Prepare the masala powder in the mean time.
2. In a small bowl, add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, saunf powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, kasuri methi and amchur and mix well. Set aside.
3. Pinch a large lemon sized ball of dough and roll to form a 6" diameter circle. Spread a tsp of melted ghee over it. Sprinkle the masala powder over it. Finally sprinkle chopped coriander and mint leaves.
4. Start rolling from one side of the paratha to form a long roll. Slowly twist the long roll in a concentric way to form a coil as shown in the image above. Press it gently on a flour dusted surface and roll out into a flat 7"-8" paratha.
5. Heat an iron tawa and once its hot, place the paratha and let it cook for 15 secs. Flip the paratha and let it cook for a few more secs. Once light brown spots appear, drizzle some ghee and roast to a golden shade on both sides. Use a spatula to press all over as the paratha gets roasted.
6. Serve warm with any curry of your choice or yogurt or raita.

Tips

• You can add dried pudina leaves to the masala mixture instead of fresh mint.
• You can add a tbsp of dry roasted til or sesame seeds to the masala mixture.

Bedmi puri recipe

Bedmi Puri recipe, a popular Indian street food, wheat flour based bread stuffed with spiced lentils and served with a spicy potato curry.
                                               

Connoisseurs of pure vegetarian North indian food are sure to love today’s traditional breakfast recipe – bedmi puri also popularly known as bedmi aloo, bedmi kachori, urad dal kachori, bedvi, bedami or bedmi puri aloo sabzi. In the North Indian hindi speaking states of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh as well as in Rajasthan, bedmi aloo is a popular street foodusually served as a breakfast or an early brunch. As a steert food ,dehli style, this urad dal stuffed crispy puri is served with a spicy aloo sabzi aka potato curry and a sweet and spicy mashed pumpkin sabzi. Perfectly balanced flavors that are addictive. It is a satwik dish, in other words, a no o nion no garlic recipe  and is vegan as well. Of course, it is calorie rich and makes for an indulgent breakfast on a festive day or special occasion.

Each home cook has his or her own take on making bedmi puri recipe based on the region they belong. The thickness and size of the bedmi puri differs according to the region it is prepared. Smaller, thicker shaped puris are more popular as kachori.

There are two methods that one can follow to make bedmi poori. One method followed by many home cooks is to direcly add the ground raw urad dal paste along with spices to the whole wheat flour and semolina to make a slightly stiff dough. Small balls are pinched off the dough to be rolled into thick flattened puris and deep fried till crisp and golden brown.

Main Ingredients:

1. wheat flour
2. urad dal

Ingredients

• For Stuffing:
• Urad dal - 1 cup
• Green chilis - 3-4
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
• Roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala powder - (3 cloves. 1/2" cinnamon stick, 1 black cardamom 5 black pepper corns)
• Fresh coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
• Oil - 2-3 tbsps
• For puri:
• Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
• Semolina - 1/2 cup
• Salt - as required
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Water - as required to prepare dough
• Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Grind the drained whole urad dal to a coarse paste adding 2-3 tbsps of water. Do not make a smooth paste.
2. Heat 3 tbsps oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add asafoetida and allow to sizzle. Add the ground urad dal paste and mix vigorously as it will stick to the vessel. Add more oil if required. After 5 mts, add ginger-green chili paste, red chili powder, coriander powder, roasted cumin powder, fennel seeds powder, garam masala powder and amchur powder. Mix well and vigorously. It will take some time to appear like a crumbly mixture. Once it appears like a loose crumbly texture, add the chopped coriander leaves and mix. Turn off heat. Set aside this urad dal mixture in a separate bowl.
3. Take a large bowl, add the whole wheat flour, semolina, salt, oil and water and make a slightly firm dough. [At this stage you can add the cooked urad dal mixture along with the wheat flour while making the dough. Make lemon sized balls of the dough and roll out into 5"-6" flattened circles/puris and deep fry till crisp and golden brown]
4. If using the cooked urad dal mixture as a stuffing, you will first have to make a firm dough with whole wheat flour, semolina, salt, oil and water. Pinch out small lemon sized balls from the puri dough and roll each into 3" discs. Place a tbsp of the stuffing in the center of each disc. Bring the edges of the disc up to form a cup shape and enclose. Dust some flour on the working surface and roll the ball into a flattened 5"-6" circle. Prepare puris with the rest of the dough and set aside.
5. Heat oil for deep frying in a wide cooking vessel on high flame. Once the oil is hot, reduce flame to medium high and carefully slide a rolled out puri into the hot oil. Gently press the puri with a ladle and allow it to puff. Increase flame and cook for a couple of seconds and gently flip to the other side. Cook for a few seconds till it turns golden brown. Remove the bedmi puri from the oil and place on absorbent paper. Make bedmi puris with rest of the rolled out puris.
6. Serve warm bedmi puri with aloo sabzi.

Tips

• You can mix the uncooked urad dal paste along with the spices, green chili-ginger paste and coriander leaves directly with the whole wheat flour and make a firm dough. Roll into round circles of 5" and deep fry till golden brown. OR
• You can cook the ground urad dal paste along with the spices etc and add this cooked mixture directly to the whole wheat flour and make a firm dough. Roll into round circles of 5" and deep fry till golden brown. 
• You can cook the ground urad dal paste along with the spices etc and use it as a stuffing.

Aloo kulcha recipe

Aloo kulcha is an Indian flat bread made with all purpose flour, stuffed with spiced potato mix. I have never had aloo kulcha at restaurants. Many of us love aloo paratha, potato in anything makes it delicious right? So obviously this was also very delicious,  My favorite still remains aloo paratha though.

Ingredients

Maida / All purpose flour – 1 cup

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Milk – 1/4 cup

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Curd – 1 tbsp

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Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

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Cooking soda – 1/4 tsp

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Sugar – 1 tsp

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Salt – as needed

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Butter- to smear (optional)

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For stuffing

Potato – 2

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Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

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Amchoor powder – 1 tsp

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Coriander seeds powder – 3/4 tsp

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Garam masala – 1/4 tsp

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Ajwain – 1/2 tsp

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Chopped coriander – 3 tbsp

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Salt – as needed

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Method

1. Mix flour, baking powder, cooking soda, sugar, salt well with a whisk. Make a dent and add milk, curd.
2. Mix together and sprinkle more water and make it to a non sticky dough. Dough should be soft, not too tight. Keep aside for 3 hrs, knead again to make it smooth and make 5 equal sized balls.
3. Meanwhile, you can prepare potato stuffing. Pressure cook potato for 3 whistles. Once done, peel the skin and crumble it. Add all the masala powders mentioned, salt, ajwain, coriander leaves and mix well.
4. Make equal sized balls same as maida dough.Spread the rolled maida dough to a thick disk.
5. Place the potato stuffing inside. Gather the sides and cover the stuffing and pinch together to seal.
6. Dust well with flour and spread to thick kulchas. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaves  and put the rolled kulchas over it. Gently roll again to make it stick to the kulcha
7. Sprinkle few drops on the top surface of the kulcha and smear every where. Heat tawa and place the kulcha with water applied side over it.  Cook covered for a minute.
8. Flip and cook for 1/2 a minute and if you want, you can cook in direct flame for few seconds.garnish with grated carrot & coriander.
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10. Notes

    • Keeping the dough for resting gives you soft dough and kulchas. So don’t skip it.
    • Do not over cook potatoes as it may retain water and become gooey. This will make the stuffing come out while rolling the kulcha.
    • In case if you run into problem and the stuffing becomes too sticky, add some bread crumbs to make it stiff.

Sabudana Vada-Sago Vada Recipe-Javvarisi Vadai-Navratri Vrat Recipes

Sabudana Vada is a very popular Maharashtrian snack made with tapioca pearls (sago), boiled potatoes and peanuts. As sabudana is rich in complex carbohydrates, it is used to make various dishes especially on days of fasting i.e. navratri, maha shivratri etc. Sago vada can also be served as a tea time snack, a starter or even as a side dish for variety rice. It is easy to make and taste very delicious. Today we will learn how to make sabudana vada following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

 Ingredients needed

   Sabudana/sago/tapioca pearls - 1/2 cup
   Boiled grated potato - 1/2 cup
   Peanuts - 1/4 cup
   Green chilli - 2
   Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp
   Himalayan rock salt or plain salt as needed
   Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp finely chopped 
   Fresh lemon juice - 2-3 tsp 
    Jeera -1 tsp
   Oil for deep frying

Preparation

Roast peanuts, remove the skin and dry grind it coarsely.

Pressure cook 1 potato, peel the skin, grate it and keep it ready. We need half a cup of grated potato. If you have excess, you can refrigerate it and use it to make aloo paratha. Wash, peel and grate ginger.

I have used the white mavu javvarisi to make this vada. Use good quality sago. Soak it for 5 hours in double the quantity of water. When you press the sago between your fingers, it should get mushed or check it by tasting it. It should be soft.

Drain the water completely. Leave it in the strainer for 15 minutes. Then it is ready to use for making vada.

Method 

In a bowl mix together, soaked and drained sago, grated potato, finely chopped coriander leaves, grated ginger, green chillies, peanuts, salt to taste and lemon juice.

Mix everything well and divide the mixture into 11 equal parts. Make smooth balls and then flatten it to form patties. Dust your hands with rice flour or amaranth flour  (if preparing for fast) to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

Heat oil in a pan, when it is hot, reduce the heat to medium low and gently drop the prepared vadas into the oil.

Deep fry both the sides until golden brown. Once done, remove the vadas with a slotted ladle and place it on a colander or paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve hot sabudana vadas with green chutney or tomato ketchup or just yogurt. It tastes good on it own also.

Note - If you are preparing the vada for fasting, use rajgira flour (amaranth flour) for dusting instead of rice flour and sendha namak or Himalayan rock salt in place of regular salt for making the vadas.

Pav Bhaji

I enjoy preparing street food fare at home. It’s comforting and unpretentiously rooted in Indian culinary tradition. Today, I’m blogging Mumbai’s famous street food, my kind of comfort food – Pav Bhaji. Pav = Soft Bun and Bhaji = a mashed mixed vegetable curry prepared with Pav Bhaji Masala. The key to a good Pav Bhaji lies in the quality of bread and the masala that goes into the making of the spicy bhaji. Makes for a filling evening meal. 

The bhaji makes optimum use of Mother Nature’s bountiful supply of fresh vegetables. Not less than 7-8 variety of vegetables go into its making. Now that sure makes it nutrient rich, doesn’t it? 

Pav Bhaji Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 50-60 mts

Serves 7-8 persons

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Ingredients:

1 large carrot, cubed

2 potatoes, cubed

1 capsicum, chopped

1 cup cauliflower florets, chop

8-10 french beans, string and chop

1/4 cup green peas

2 onions, finely chopped

2 green chillis, slit length wise

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

1 1/2 tbsps Pav Bhaji Masala

3/4 tsp sugar (adjust)

salt to taste

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp low fat butter (vegans can avoid butter)

fresh coriander leaves for garnish

1 1/2 tbsps oil

16 lightly toasted in butter, pav bread (vegans can use vegan butter substitute)

1 Pressure cook potatoes, cauliflower, peas, beans and carrot along with 1 cup of water, till soft. Drain any left over water and keep aside. Mash all the cooked vegetables using a masher.
2 Heat oil in a vessel, add the green chillis and onions and saute for 4 mts. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for another 3 mts. Add capsicum and saute for 2 mts.
3 Add the chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, pav bhaji masala, sugar and salt. Combine well. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft, approx 5-6 mts.
4 Add the mashed vegetables along with a cup of the drained vegetable stock and cook on high for a mt. Reduce flame and simmer for 14-15 mts.
5 The gravy will begin to thicken. Adjust the salt, if required. Turn off heat and add butter and lemon juice and combine. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
6 Serve hot with lightly toasted pav/pau and sliced onions.

Note:

You can use 2-3 vegetables also while preparing the bhaji. I have not used cabbage and beetroot since I did not have them on hand at the time of preparation. Using beetroot will lend a deep reddish purple color to the bhaji.

Dahi Vada

Last year, as part of the Navratri special recipes, I blogged crispy Vada recipe (Garelu) that are light and fluffy on the inside with a crisp exterior. This Diwali, I have for you, dear readers, Andhra style Dahi Vada aka Perugu Garelu (Aavadalu). They differ from North Indian style Dahi Vada in terms of the tempering and the use of green chilies and ginger.

Its the same process as one would prepare Dahi Vada or Tamil style Thayir Vada. Prepare the vadas, soak in water/buttermilk for a few minutes and pour a savory yogurt sauce (seasoned with spices), over the vadas. You can serve them at room temperature or chilled. Dahi Vada recipe is a must make snack during festivals like Deepavali, at our home. You can serve it for breakfast or as a cold starter/appetizer. Absolute melt in the mouth festive fare

Dahi Vada Recipe

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 15 min

Yield: 4

Main Ingredients: Black gram dal Yogurt

Ingredients

• Whole urad dal - 1 cup (minnappa gullu)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying
• Yogurt - 2 cups, thick curd
• Green chilies - 2, finely minced
• Ginger - 1", finely minced
• Carrot - 2 tbsps (grated)
• Fresh coriander leaves - 2 tbsps, finely minced
• For tempering/tadka/poppu:
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilies - 2
• Split gram dal - 1 tsp (minapappu)
• Asafoetida - pinch (inguva/poppu)
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Oil - 2 tsps
• Bhoondi-as per your taste

Method

1. Soak whole black gram dal in water for 2 hours.
2. Strain the water and grind the dal to a paste sprinkling very little water. Use small portions of dal to grind batch wise as its easier to grind into a soft paste. Add salt and beat till fluffy.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel and heat till piping hot. Reduce flame to medium.
4. Wet your hands with water, take a lemon-sized ball of batter and flatten it into a vada on a greased sheet or banana leaf. Make a hole in the center of the vada so that it cooks evenly all over.
5. Slowly drop the vada into the hot oil and fry it on both sides on medium flame to a golden brown color. Deep fry 3-4 vadas per batch depending on the size of the vessel.
6. Remove the vadas onto a bowl of water. Allow them to soak for 3 minutes.
7. While the vadas are soaking, prepare the yogurt/curd mixture. Heat 2 tsps oil in a vessel, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add cumin seeds and split gram dal and allow them to turn lightly brown. Add red chilies, green chilies, ginger, asafoetida and curry leaves and mix for a few seconds. Turn off heat.
8. Beat the thickened curd/yogurt by adding about three fourth cup of water. Add salt to taste and pour the tempering of spices over the beaten yogurt and mix. Keep aside.
9. Remove the vadas from the water and place on a serving plate. Pour the tempering yogurt sauce over the vadas. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated carrot & bhoondi.
10. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tips

• If urad dal or whole skinned black gram dal is soaked for over 8 hours, the vadas absorb less oil and are tastier than the vadas prepared from dal which is soaked for only 2 hours.
• You can soak the deep fried vadas in water.
• You can make a paste of green chilies and ginger and mix with the beaten curd.